Completed: 2002-07-26 Standard disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fan fiction except for the idea behind it and even that is mostly blatantly stolen from a multitude of sources. And if you don't like that, then SUE ME! Uhm, why are you all staring at me like that? No, it was a joke! Really! No, don't take my computer, no, not my videogames, no, not my cat!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!! *Sounds of a man being stripped of everything he own can be heard. * (Does anyone know that sound effect BTW?) Timelines: Everything in the canon Ranma 1/2 has happened in this fan fiction with the exception of the Saffron incident. Only the Ranma 1/2 reference in this fan fiction will use a modified timeline. Any other references will really just use the characters without any complex plots and/or situations. Age rating: If you can understand all the crap I'm spouting then you are definitely old enough to read this fan fiction. "Japanese" *Thoughts* Kenneth Lönnberg aka Macross_VF1 proudly presents: Balance of Chaos Chapter 3: Nothing and Everything Part 1 *** - - - - *** The next morning, Ranma stepped out of a transporter portal. He was clad in a red shirt and black jeans, black sunglasses covering his eyes. Just as planned he had arrived at the UN building in New York (I think). One of the biggest constants in his life was strangely enough the very building he was gazing upon. For some reason it could be found in almost any dimension featuring Earth. He walked a little closer, curious about all the police surrounding the building. He tuned in to the police COM channels, listening for a moment. His mouth turned into a vicious grin, and he cracked his knuckles. This day had barely started and it already showed promise. *** Nabiki stood at the gates of Furinkan high school shaking her head at the spectacle before her. When Ranma disappeared, the idiot squad quickly restarted assaulting Akane. Despite the fact that he had returned, they still tried to best her, hence the name. Normally she would have been happy about this turn of events, but ever since she signed up as a riot suppresser, she had to spend a lot of time, effort and money to control situations like this. She sighed as she saw Akane pound the last of the idiots. This day had barely started and she already had a headache. *** Some hours later, Ranma walked out of the UN building looking incredibly pleased with himself. The meeting went as planned, that is a lot of protesting from narrow-minded politicians and a lot of convincing from his side. All in all, his suggestions had been approved of and he was satisfied with the compromises made. He also had had the opportunity to engage in some more violent 'discussions' before the meeting, concerning some terrorists, about terrorism. *A great warm up. * He thought with a grin. He checked his chronometer and decided to call it a day. *I'll have to prepare my briefing for tomorrow...* *** The bell rang and every student filed out of the classrooms. School was over for the day and most students hurried to get home. Nabiki was no exception. She had already arranged for her cronies to look out for Ranma. The computer geeks were instructed to watch the net for any scrap of information they could possibly get and any and all contacts to the media, even the remote ones, were closely monitored. Already, some information had surfaced, and she was anxious to confirm them herself. It would probably take the entire night and cost quite a bit of money. She swore she was going to find Ranma and pay him back for all the trouble he caused her. Or so she told herself. *** Early next morning Ranma stepped out of another glimmering portal. He stood before an ugly building that looked like it had been ruined several times, if the patchwork repairs were any indication. He knew better to trust appearances though. The people working in the building had experience and knowledge and would most certainly be more than capable of handling the new assignment. *Time to brief the squad* He thought with a sentimental smile. *** Nabiki did not want to leave her bed. Almost the entire night had been spent finding clues to Ranma's whereabouts and confirming them since most sightings were no more than fakes. Unfortunately she had no solid leads, only some rumours. She reluctantly climbed out of the bed when she heard Kasumi announcing breakfast. The thought of school did brighten her mood a little. Her contacts just might have been lucky and gotten some good info. *** It was late when Ranma activated his return transporter. He idly reflected on the day and was very satisfied with the proceedings. The newly started UN ETSPP bureau would prove most useful to him just as similar organisations had in the past. Briefing the agents was a joy to behold, as they were even more organised and experienced then he anticipated. He gleefully rubbed his hands together as he thought of the coming day. He had always liked travelling... *** Nabiki looked desperately at the computer screen. She had gotten her first solid lead about Ranma, but she still didn't know his location. The news continuously reported about the previous day's terrorist attack on the UN building. What the news did not report was that Ranma somehow got involved in the attack, though it was unclear if he was an aggressor or defender, maybe both. She rubbed her temples and turned off her computer. No use staying up all night. *** Ranma looked intensely at a computer screen depicting earth. All over the map, small yellow blips could be found. He had to check every one of them. Not that he was complaining, after all he just might find some interesting individuals. After a short consideration he decided that Tomobiki in Tokyo would make a great starting point. *** Several hours later Ranma stepped out of a transporter portal and promptly deactivated it. He was almost through for the day and had therefore returned to Japan. Only one more stop and he would be finished with his first day. He looked around the lush forest surrounding him. *I could get to like it here. * He thought as he briefly enjoyed the sight before him. In the distance he could see a lake with a house in close proximity. *Odd place for a modern house* he thought. Behind it, a long set of stairs could be seen that ended in a traditional Japanese shrine. Ranma looked down at the small computer screen in his hand. Several blips inside the house signified auras that had to be investigated. Now that he was close, he could get much more accurate readings than he had gotten before. The wide planet scan he had made when he arrived was useful but did not give much in the way of details. He took a closer look at the readings and instantly became intrigued. Only one of the blips was human. The other signatures were a mixture of non-humans. He dismissed the screen and stretched out his senses. The auras of the non-humans proved to be very powerful. In fact, if he would ever find himself in a situation where he didn't have access to his equipment, they just might be able to overpower him. *At least for a moment...* Ranma thought wryly. Suddenly, he felt one of the auras inside the house abruptly disappearing. His eyes widened as he recognized the method; the aura's owner had placed itself out of phase with normal reality. He quickly stood up and looked around. A person phasing in that manner could very possibly reappear right next to him. He relaxed as he felt the aura return, almost in the exact place as before. Something wasn't right though since he could feel one of the other auras expanding as if preparing for battle. Very soon, the phasing aura followed and only seconds after, a big explosion could be heard throughout the valley. Smoke poured out of the house and the residents came out coughing and cursing. Well, the cursing really just came from two individuals, both females, if the voices were any indication. Ranma smiled and remembered Otaru's house on Terratoo. The marionettes living with him could cause quite a stir sometimes. Max Mercury had once told him: The only worthwhile things you can bring to a catfight is popcorn and a drink. Ranma was quite tempted to do just that and include a camping chair in the package but he refrained from that. After all he still had work to do. He took a short teleport down in the valley. He re-emerged near the edge of the forest and watched the scene before him with a bemused expression. On one side, a blonde woman and a small girl with long, blue ponytails similar to Usagi's haircut looked on with worried expressions. Behind them a bit-older-than-middle-aged man stood. There seemed to be some sort of special aura around the man that gave the impression of a cloak of some sort. Other than that, the man looked like he thoroughly enjoyed watching the spectacle. In the middle of the field, before the house, was the main attraction. A boy with a pigtail, looking slightly younger than himself, in appearance that is, had somehow become the prize in a tug of war between the two women he had heard cursing before. The woman on the boy's right had purple hair and somehow managed to look royal and dignified despite being in a very undignified situation. The other woman sported a more roguish and sexier look and spiky cyan coloured hair. Yet again he was reminded how similar this was to Otaru's situation, and he simply couldn't contain his chuckle. Immediately everyone present stopped and looked at him. "Who are you?" The sexy woman asked, taking up a clearly threatening posture. "We will not let you hurt Tenchi-Sama!" The purple-haired one declared hotly. "Just like Bloodberry and Cherry!" Ranma said as he laughed. "Now where's Lime when you need her." He said and looked around in an exaggerated manner. "Hey! I know you!" The blonde on the side exclaimed happily. "I saw you on TV!" The boy the women fought over elbowed his way forward. "Yeah, that's right. I saw you on the news the other day. You're called Wildman, right?" "Ranma Wildman, at your service, my liege." Ranma said, bowing theatrically. "So you're the guy Washu has been raving about 24/7." The cyan-haired woman said. Ranma froze and paled visibly. A big lump formed in his throat and the words didn't want to come out. "Did... you... just say Washu?" Ranma managed to stutter out in a whisper. The cyan-haired woman looked at him as if he was sick or something. "Yeah, the little maniac is probably watching this as we speak." She snorted. However Ranma didn't hear anything after 'yeah'. He ran forward and grabbed the woman's collar. "WHERE IS SHE?" He screamed in desperation. The woman waved her hand in front of her face. "Hey what are you trying to do? Kill me with your breath? And besides it's not like I'm just going to tell you where she is just like that." "Please... just tell me, ok? It's really important." Ranma pleaded silently to the woman as he let her down. "Get away from Ryoko!" The boy named Tenchi called out from the side. Ranma didn't react. He continued to stare at the woman although at that angle it was impossible for the others to hear or see Ranma's frustrated pleading. Deciding that that enough was enough, the boy withdrew something from his clothes. A hiss and a blue light coming from the boy finally got Ranma's attention. "Interesting... " Ranma turned and commented on the glowing energy sword. "Looks like a lightsaber, but I feel something else about it..." He looked straight into the eyes of the boy. "Tell me, have you any knowledge of something called the force?" The boy looked confused. "Uhm, I don't know what you are talking about." Ranma only shook his head. "I thought as much." He turned to the house and started walking. "Hey!" 'Ryoko' called out. "You can't leave like that!" Ranma only ignored her. It didn't take long for Ranma to reach the house. He opened the front door of the house and went in. *Where would I be if I were Washu...* He pondered for himself. *Ah, but of course! * He exclaimed mentally. He rummaged a bit through his subspace pockets and found the thing he was looking for. A phase-pulse-modulator should do the trick. Just as he plucked the device out of subspace, the people out in the yard caught up with him and stood in the doorway. The two battling women and the boy looked almost ready to kill but the older man stopped them. "Hold it. I don't think we should interrupt this." He said and pointed at Ranma. Ranma was taking out tools and equipment seemingly from nowhere and neatly placed them on the table in the living room. "You youngsters would do well to listen to your elders." Ranma said without looking up from what he was doing. "This is delicate and highly volatile equipment. Well the equipment is delicate. I am volatile." Ranma answered, chuckling at his own joke. The two women looked almost as if they would explode at the comment, but before they could retort a younger voice interrupted. "What are you doing?" The blue-haired girl asked. Ranma looked up and smiled. "Oh nothing special. I just figured that the best way to find Washu would be to find her sub pocket lab." "I gather you know Washu quite well then." The old man said. "Yeah, well, I was the one that originally gave her the idea to use subspace pockets." Ranma answered as he tinkered with the device. He ignored all the gasps his comment elicited. "How old are you?!" The boy exclaimed. Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Does that matter? I am here, and so is apparently Washu. And I _will_ find her." He answered forcefully; slamming the lid on the device shut and took the cord connected to it in his right hand. He lifted it to his right ear and grimaced. "And now, the ugly part." He said, plunging the metallic end on the cord deep into his skull through a connector behind his ear. Every muscle in his body protested at the intrusion, but soon he relaxed and opened his eyes. "Heh. Just like Washu." He said as he looked around using the software provided by the phase-pulse modulator to locate anomalies in reality. "Security cameras being out of phase always were a speciality of hers." He went to the glass doors of the living room and looked out. "And outside as well... Damn she has been busy." He turned around, planning to check the entire house, but he saw something that made him freeze up like a statue. Beside the stairs, a girl with spiky red-hair, stood with her arms crossed. She was scowling yet she seemed strangely curious as well. Ranma couldn't get out a word; he just dumbly stumbled forward, reaching out with one arm. He slowly got closer, ignoring the odd stares he got. Time seemed to stretch out into eternity but he finally reached her and knelt as if paying respect to a deity. He stretched out his arm and tenderly touched the girl's cheek. She was younger than he remembered but to Ranma that did not matter. For him it was like a dream come true. "Washu-chan..." he whispered and enveloped the girl in a hug. *** Nabiki was ecstatic. One of the computer geeks had found information indicating that Ranma's little visit to the UN headquarters led to the start of a new world spanning security agency. As she walked down the streets of Nerima on the way back to the dojo, she reflected that this could be a perfect moment to extort Ranma for some well needed money and maybe to get some solid contacts for the future. Anyway, she now had an address and she was sure that she now could find Ranma. She never noticed the people in black suits following her... *** Ranma stepped back and let Washu out of his embrace and genuinely smiled at her. To him, the world had just become a much brighter place. However the look on Washu's face just wasn't right. She looked thoroughly confused and a bit flustered as well. "What's the matter? Don't you recognize me?" Ranma asked in a worried tone. Washu sighed and shook her head. "No, I do not. In fact I can positively say that I have never ever met you in my life. What I want to know is why you claim to know me." She said with a scowl. Ranma hesitated. Why didn't she remember him? A cold thought struck him. "Uhm, I don't want to sound rude but how old are you?" "About 20000 years." The redhead replied. "And I think I've aged with dignity." She added with a small smile. His first suspicions proved wrong; He had not arrived too early in her life. Well that should have been obvious; earth was barely beyond the Stone Age in the dimension he originally met Washu... Wait that was it! "Just great." He growled. "When I finally meet someone I've met during my travels, she proves to be this dimension's counterpart. Just fucking GREAT!" He almost screamed. His shoulders slumped and he continued in a depressed tone. "Damn, I would just cry at the injustice of it all." "Then why don't you do it?" The cyan-haired woman asked with a smirk. "Because I can't." "Sure you can. Or is it unmanly?" She said mockingly. "No, because I am incapable of crying." Ranma replied irritably. That stopped the woman cold. The girl with ponytails continued. "What do you mean incapable?" She asked in concern. "Exactly what I said." Ranma smiled sadly. "I cannot cry since my eyes are bionic. Actually they came with the brain." "Hold on now a minute." Washu interjected. She summoned her subspace computer. "So you are from another dimension, and have met a counterpart of me as well..." She pondered for a moment before her face lit up in a huge smile. "That proves two theories of mine!" Two chibi-Washu dolls popped up from nowhere in a big fanfare. "You are the best Washu!" "Yes, you are the greatest scientific genius in the universe." "So true!" Washu cackled maniacally. "Heh. You may not be the Washu I met, but you sure are the same nonetheless." Ranma chuckled sadly. Washu instantly turned serious. "Now back to you. Who exactly are you and why are you here?" Ranma glanced around and looked at the assembled group. "Well you know me by my name, but I think we got off on the wrong foot. Why don't we sit down and I'll explain..." *** Nabiki struggled in futility against her captors. She was quickly gagged and restrained, then thrown into a black Mercedes. Inside there were more black suited men and their mere presence was enough to make Nabiki think twice about escape. She idly wondered if she had pissed of any big crime lords as the car drove away, tires screeching against the pavement. *** It took almost an hour but introductions had been made and Ranma had told them essentially the same story that he told the Sailor scouts. "Now you know a little bit more about me. Now I want to know about you people. Only one person in this house is human and he isn't even in this room." The assembled people looked somewhat surprised at that. "Uhm, how did you know that?" The boy asked. "Simple." Ranma replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Humans normally doesn't show up on my aura scanner, and if they do, they almost always have a very distinct profile." He pointed at the blonde woman. "Also, with the exception of Mihoshi, everyone in this room has a quite powerful aura. Of course, Washu's aura is not really powerful in that sense, her aura merely indicates an abnormally high intelligence." He concluded. "Please, you just say that." Washu replied, mock blushing at the praise. The old man, Katsuhito, spoke up. "A very interesting story you have there, but there are still two large questions unanswered. How did you meet the other Washu and why are you here?" "Never thought anyone would ask." Ranma replied with a wide smile. "I met her a couple of years after she had finished her academic studies. She never really told me what her background was but it was clear that some event had utterly devastated her and left her in a deep depression. I myself was much in the same way at the time. I've had my fair share of depressions myself and we somehow found each other moping around without a clear purpose." "You mean you met in a bar, trying to drink yourselves to death." Ryoko replied with a smirk. Ranma grinned. "Something like that." He got a somewhat faraway look when he continued. "Yes, our first meeting wasn't exactly the stuff of legends. In fact, I was determined to put the little brat in her place by telling her that my life had been much worse than hers. Of course she didn't agree with me and a strange competition formed." "Who won?" Washu asked. "We never finished it." Ranma replied with a shrug. "From that point, we managed to drag ourselves out of our respective depressions and Washu found that science was her true purpose in life. I just followed along and helped her out, since I've always had a passing interest in science. After all, if I ever wanted to find a way to cross dimensions by my own choosing, it would have to be by scientific means." "It sounds like you were pretty close." The purple-haired woman named Ayeka said. "You could say that." Ranma replied sadly. "I may have gotten a second chance after I destroyed Slaanesh but in truth, it has been really hard on me." "What do you mean?" Washu asked concerned. "Just think about it. I have moved through lots of dimensions, consequently not staying very long in most of them. You just don't form permanent attachments since it just becomes harder to break them when the inevitable switch comes." Ranma answered looking very depressed. "Memories and friends are two of the greatest treasures available to me and to meet someone I have met in another dimension, was like a dream come true to me..." He said in a low tone. He instantly changed his expression into a more cheerful one. "As for why I'm here... Well, I'm working actually. I need information on of all you, or I'll have to ask you to leave Earth territory." "Huh?" Came the collective answer. "Yesterday, I visited The United Nations headquarter..." "Yeah I remember the news saying something about the UN-building." Tenchi spoke up. "They said some terrorists had attacked and took all the UN-delegates hostage. The police somehow managed to convince the terrorists to surrender though, so no one got hurt, but I guess that was you, huh?" Tenchi asked. "Almost true but not quite." Ranma answered. "I arrived at the same time as the attack so I took up the role as 'negotiator'... The terrorists didn't exactly get away unhurt from that little session." He finished, looking very satisfied with himself. "Anyway, after that little nuisance was taken care of, I spoke at length about the lack of a unified government on Earth. If there is one thing I have learned during my travels is that a planet can not truly hope to survive in the intergalactic community if it is divided like Earth." "Well that is certainly correct." Washu spoke up. "Earth is almost unique in the galaxy, since it has such diversity in cultures and therefore an almost ridiculous high number of nations. Also, I've always been impressed by the sheer stupidity of most rulers here on earth. Though I must admit that the Clinton - Lewinsky affair had a lot of comical value." Ranma looked strangely at Washu for a second, silently trying to tell her 'You've got to tell me about that some other time', before continuing. "Anyway, what I proposed was some type of organisation that would basically act like an embassy, representing Earth to any and all non-earth beings, until Earth comes together under one flag." "And they actually agreed?" "Well, it took some convincing but when I referred to the infamous takeover attempt in Tomobiki, the people opposing my suggestion were silenced. After that it was just the small matter of actually setting up an organisation." "Now that is something I would have paid to see." Washu grinned. "Somehow I do not doubt that for a second." Ranma grinned back. "Incidentally, the Japanese government was already in the process of setting up a secret agency to monitor super-powered individuals, alien beings and supernatural creatures in the Tokyo area, since they for some reason always seem to pop up around there. Actually, this supposed secret agency was not much of a secret at all, as it was built right on top of the old Godzilla monitoring agency. For me it was just a matter of moving in, commandeering their equipment and briefing them on the new assignment." "That still doesn't truly explain why you seem hostile against us." Ayeka pointed out. "I was getting to that. Now that the organisation has been started, I've been assigned to find, identify and evaluate any non-humans on earth. This is very much how a normal nation would act. I doubt that any of your nations would let a criminal or something similar within their domains and if they did, they would keep the person in question under heavy surveillance." "That is most certainly true." Ayeka answered. "If for instance a certain space pirate would try to enter Jurai, she would most definitely be chased out." She finished with a smirk. "Well I don't exactly have to go Jurai, now do I? I mean I wouldn't dream of leaving Tenchi." Ryoko answered phasing out and appearing beside Tenchi, enveloping him in a hug. "Tenchi dear, why don't we leave that old bag and go to a nice vacation spot I know of?" She said seductively. Tenchi was already making warding gestures but it proved to be a futile effort as Ayeka predictably blew up. "Get your hands of Tenchi-sama!" "Oh yeah?" Ryoko answered in a challenging tone. "And who's gonna stop me?" "CEASE THIS INSTANT." Ranma said in a commanding, yet disturbingly monotone voice. Both Ayeka and Ryoko Eeped and sat down looking as if they had been brought to the brink of death. "Damn, I love that trick." Ranma laughed. "If I ever meet Death again, I'll be sure to thank him." He continued, ignoring the strange stares he got. "Now let's get some of that information archived shall we?" He said taking out his trusty computer notepad. *** Nabiki was miserable. After the horrifying experience of being violently captured and abducted to god knows where, she was thoroughly questioned in a very intimidating manner, just short of being tortured. The questions mainly concerned her interest in Ranma but she didn't say anything except that she wanted a lawyer. Her silence was broken though as her captors used some type of truth serum. The next thirty minutes passed in a blur for Nabiki, and she had no recollection of what she did or said. After that she was transferred to a prison cell and was told that she had to stay until further notice. She was very nervous, despite maintaining a mask devoid of emotions and expressions. Where the hell did the geek get the information? *** An hour later Ranma sat on a chair inside Washu's lab looking at all her gadgets. "Well I shouldn't really be surprised." He said despite his wonder at some of her inventions. "I met your counterpart when she was only 25 years old. In 19875 years a lot can, will and has happened in the terms of technological advances. One thing has not changed though. Both of you are definitely the greatest scientific genius in the universe." He smiled at her. Washu truly blushed this time. "Stop with the flattering already." "Why should I? I know how much you like to hear it." "That's true." She answered placing one finger on her chin as if thinking hard. "There's one thing that is bothering me though." Ranma said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Why are you in a child's body?" Washu's cheerful front became visibly strained. "Now that is a secret." Ranma began to laugh. "Hey! What's so funny?" She said looking offended. Ranma laughed for another minute and dried his tears before answering. "I was just reminded of a guy I met on my travels that always used exactly that phrase... I think you would have liked him." Ranma smiled at the memory. "Anyway, your appearance might not be a result of what happened during you're academy time, would it?" Washu's expression darkened considerably. "Look, I don't want to talk about it." "You don't have to." Ranma said seriously. "I always respected my Washu, and I will not break that habit now. However it would be nice to see you as I remember you... uhm, her... whatever." He sighed and shook his head. "Damn, this is hard. We've barely met but to me it's like I never even left my Washu when you stand before me." Washu looked curiously at Ranma. "I sense that you were closer than you told earlier." Ranma sighed again. "Yes, we were truly close. Of course, since I've never been able to stay for very long in any one dimension, I never pursued a romantic relationship with her, but it was hard sometimes to refrain from that. It's strange really; in my 'occupation' you cannot allow yourself to become too attached to someone, yet there was something special with her. I told her all my secrets, something that no one else but her has had the privilege of hearing." "I guess there must be some emotional wars going on in your mind as we speak." "Heh, you couldn't have said it better. Here I am talking to a completely different Washu, a stranger really, someone I haven't decided if I can trust yet, and despite that I'm almost pouring my heart out. Hell give me an hour or two and you'll get to hear all the nasty stuff of my life." He said with a wry smile. "That might be arranged. Just would follow me." She said with a discomforting smile. She grabbed his hands and tried to pull him deeper into the lab. Ranma however, did not move from his spot. "I have to decline. I've got to go back to headquarters and file today's findings. Besides you just want to strap me to a table and perform a multitude of experiments." He said sarcastically. "Ah, c'mon don't be that way." She said with a pout. "Can I help it that you are the most promising guinea pig that has presented itself in months? Besides how did you know I was going to that?" Ranma's smile turned into a grin. "Elementary my dear Washu. Your counterpart was no different." "Spoilsport." Washu said, crossing her arms. Ranma couldn't help laughing at that. "Don't worry. I have a feeling that you will see me a lot in the future." He said with a genuine smile. "Later." He finished before activating a portal and disappearing from Washu's lab. *** - - - - *** How interesting. Washu and Ranma almost being an item? How will that affect his 'relationship' with Setsuna and the rest of the Senshi? And what are his true motives behind the UN ETSPP bureau? Read Balance of Chaos: Nothing and Everything, Part 2, in order to find out. If you wish to contact me then do so at: kenneth@gon.nu or kenneth.lonnberg@bodenonline.com My works will be available at: My own page - http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/macvf1fanfic And when they get around to update/accept my fics, these sites will also feature my fics: Lady Cosmo's Fanfic Library - http://ladycosmos.anifics.com/ Ranchan & co. Crossing bridges - http://tannim.anifics.com/